Stony Brook Field House, April 12, 1986

Sorry, George, for erasing you....but I'm sure you understand!!!  To be fair, it's not one of your better efforts!

I joined LOOB and we had no more than a few rehearsals before we went into the studio to record the second demo.  This is from the last rehearsal before we went into record.  It's the earliest tape of me with LOOB, and unless something from 1985 is unearthed, the earliest available recording of LOOB playing live.

What there is of it!  I recorded a mere three songs on a boom box. We start off with a spirited run-through of "I Cried".  Then we're treated to almost five minutes of a run-through of "Can't Say No".  All I hear on this is drums, Hubie's guitar and Ted's distant vocal (Ward would eventually sing lead on the actual recording).  Ted's playing unamplified acoustic guitar.  At the time, the song was a bit unappreciated, but turned out to be one of the best things on the demo.  Lastly we play the old LOOB chestnut, "Time Is Cruel".  Ted and Hubie had both told me that the pre-Mike LOOB had rehearsed this song to death.  Having not been there, I had no problem with "Time Is Cruel", it was one of my favorite early LOOB songs.  From what I was told, "Time Is Cruel" originated with Hubie and Ted, though I'm sure Ward wrote his own verse. I've always credited it to Poole-Schreiber-Regan!

I've waxed poetic about the Suffolk Office and the Rocky Point House.....but the Stony Brook Field House was another fun rehearsal spot (and, before my tenure, they used to rehearse right on the stage of the school auditorium!  LOOB always had fantastic rehearsal spots!)  We'd play and friends of those guys would show up, Ben Moss, Leighton Coleman, Sara & Jane (girlfriends of Rich & Ward), I think John Russell may have stopped in from time to time. I always dug rehearsing there.

I think this tape may be the first rehearsal after Rich had quit the group.  At this point, I was so new I barely knew what was happening.  I just knew that these four guys always seemed to be at each other's throats!  It didn't take me long to join in the drama, but at this time I was innocent and blameless!  Enjoy this little snippet of the infant LOOB....29 years ago today!  Time IS cruel!

Stony Brook Field House, 4/12/86
I Cried
Can't Say No
Time Is Cruel

Ward Regan - vocal, whistling
Hubert Poole - guitar, vocal, whistling
Ted Schreiber - bass, vocal
Michael Goodman - drums

recorded on a boom box, behind the drums

mp3 and lossless flac (delete flac if you don't want it)
https://www.mediafire.com/?p4ake0ks84u9vgf